NORTHSTAR
Real Name: Jean-Paul Beaubier
Group Affilation: Alpha Flight
FIrst Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120
Creator: John Byrne

      As an infant Jean-Paul Beaubier's parents were killed in a car crash, and he and his twin sister were separated. Adopted by a family named Martin, Jean-Paul led a rather lonely childhood. At some point he attempted to steal from a man named Raymonde Belmonde, who ended up taking the youngster under his wing.
      Belmonde helped the young Jean-Paul deal with his emerging super-human powers. [Compiler's notes: Presumably Belmonde helped J-P deal with his sexuality as well. This has never been stated, however. I WILL state my position on the "Belmonde as J-P's first lover" theory - Nope. Too old, and I doubt Byrne would show a pedophile as a positive character. Belmonde was definitely a father-figure though.]
      For a time, Beaubier left Belmonde's company and journeyed to France. Following that, he joined a circus as an acrobat. (It should be noted that Jean-Paul apparently abstained from using his powers while with the circus.) Returning to Quebec, Jean-Paul became involved with a radical sect of Quebec Nationalists. Beaubier left the group when one of their bombs almost killed a busload of people. (J-P himself had had to stop the bomb.)
      Beaubier then turned his attention to skiing, a sport he had always loved. Using his powers he became a champion at both the amateur and professional levels. It was then that he was contacted by James MacDonald Hudson. Hudson had already met Jeanne-Marie Beaubier and discovered Jean-Paul through her. Fascinated by the revelation he had a sister, Jean-Paul joined Hudson's Department H.
      Jean-Paul did not rejoin Alpha after Hudson's seeming death due to the fact that he had quarreled with his sister. However, he was forced to join Alpha at the Eye of the World due to a mystic summons from Talisman. He almost left again immediately, but Snowbird used her powers to force him to stay and help.
      Beaubier stayed with Alpha for quite some time after that. His secret id was inadvertantly revealed to the world when he rescued a skier who had been accidentally mind-controlled by Kara Kilgrave. This prompted a backlash from the athletic community and Jean-Paul was stripped of his medals from his amateur career.
      Northstar remained with Alpha Flight until a mysterious disease caused him to seek the mystic artifact called the Firefountain. This adventure led into the depths of Svartalfheim, realm of the Dark Elves of Nordic myth. There, Aurora seemingly sacrificed her powers to save her brother. Having been told by Loki that he and his sister were half-elves, Northstar vanished into a portal to the realm of the Ljosalfar, or Light Elves. Problem is, Loki is the God of Lies...
      Northstar was trapped in Asgard due to that realm's separation from Earth (the Rainbow Bridge had been smashed.) He was rescued when Talisman decided she needed all the help she could get in her battle with the Sorcerer. So she sent Persuasion, Laura Dean, Goblyn and Aurora to Asgard to get him.
      Not long after Alpha Flight accepted government funding from Department H for a third time, Beaubier experienced a major shift in his life. During a fight Jean-Paul discovered a baby abandoned in a dumpster. Upon learning the child was HIV-positive and had full-blown AIDS Beaubier adopted her, naming the girl Joanne. As her disease was highly advanced, she died shortly afterwords.
      Immediately following her death Jean-Paul called a press conference at which he announced he was a homosexual. The baby's death, (along with one "Major Maple Leaf,") had convinced Beaubier of the need to step forward as a positive gay role-model. [The Major was a World War II era super-hero whose son died of AIDS-related illness. -C]
      Northstar then remained with Alpha Flight until the team was suspended while an investigation into the Joshua Lord matter took place. Jean-Paul temporarily quit the team when the suspension came down, but soon returned. When Alpha Flight was once again disbanded by the government he disappeared from public view.
      When Jean-Paul next appeared he seemed fairly troubled. He may even have attempted suicide at one point. While wandering without any conscious purpose he arrived at the ruins of Soeur Anne's School for Girls, his sister's former home. A vision of Aurora appeared to him there, and this sent Jean-Paul on a search for her. This search eventually led to Department H. Before he could enter the Department's headquarters though he was stopped and recruited by Sasquatch and Shaman.
      Northstar thus joined the original Alpha Flight in their battle against Department H's Weapon X experiment. Aurora had been infected with the Weapon X bacteria; Northstar and the others were seeking both to stop X and cure Aurora.
      This adventure led to conflict and then co-operation with the latest version of Alpha Flight. At the adventure's end Jean-Paul Beaubier rejoined Department H with the rest of his colleagues.
      Jean-Paul Beaubier is a mutant [The sentinels were obviously malfunctioning in Alpha #43, ok? - C] capable of movement at high super- human speeds, whether in flight or running. He can also swim at high speed by "flying" through the water.
      Beaubier is able to create extremely bright light by clasping hands with his sister. Although traditionally unable to radiate light by himself, Northstar now glows while in flight, like the star from which he takes his name. He has also referred to himself as "the one with light powers." It is possible that in the time since he left Alpha Flight Beaubier has learned to utilize light-generating abilities similar to those possessed by Aurora.